Pull inward. Conserve energy, stuff earphones in my ears, and don’t talk much to people around me. A while back I flew about 13 hours in business class next to one really cool cat—the kind whose touch pad computer never died—without once saying Hello. Can you believe it? He was so cool he actually pissed me off. That and his full head of wavy hair and the fact he was ten years younger than me.

Be stealth. Don’t stand out. I don’t want to become a target for anyone.

Act like I know what the hell I’m doing. Goes with not becoming a target. Walk with confidence, especially on the streets.

Be comfortable. Dress in loose clothing, easy shoes, layers for when it gets overly hot or cool.

Stay cool-headed. I once unwittingly picked the movie The Ring to watch after lights out. Very well-done movie, all was going along beautifully until suddenly I found that my heart was racing and my palms sweaty. Looked to my left: man sitting next to me was fast asleep. To my right was complete stillness, everyone alseep. I forgot that I never watch horror movies by myself, much less while trapped in a plane hurdling through complete darkness somewhere over the middle of the Pacific Ocean. Fortunately, I managed to breathe through it.

I’ll be off-line for a while, but knowing me, it won’t be too long. In the mean time, if you have any tips for keeping sane on those long flights (if Heather’s reading this, well, em, hyperventilating is not a good tip) please drop them here. I might need them for the way back.

Oh, and if you happen to see a slinky, sleek, smooth chick prowling the streets of Vietnam, well, let’s just say I wouldn’t approach her and ask, Are you ybonesy?

38 Responses

I am green with envy. I never got there when I lived in Asia and it is supposed to be beautiful and the art, you can buy amazing, amazing paintings for a few dollars. I love your pen and ink, by the way, the colours make me happy. Now I’m wondering what you do for a living……..

This is definitely one of my favorite pictures of yours thus far. I love it!

My secret for long flights is to take Dramamine. I don’t usually get sick on planes (although sometimes I do) but it works wonders for helping me sleep. Knocks me flat on my back but not so much that I can’t wake up and navigate airports if need be.

ybonesy, you’ve outdone yourself with this drawing. WOW. Is it beautiful. Love the little mustache. 8) I’ll be thinking about you. Sixteen hours is a long, long flight. Looking forward to when you can check in from Vietnam. Remember, no horror movies on the flight. And safe travels, my friend.

Actually, I tend to give up on trying to look sleek and unflustered on long plane journeys – it’s just too much like hard work! So I just pretend I’m invisible, or at least completely unnoticed by those around me, and do what I want to do to be comfy.

I’m not a very cool cat when I travel if it involves flying so I don’t have too many suggestions for you. You already learned what I did: Never watch horror movies while flying. Pick the happy, happy, silly, silly film.

Have a great time in Vietnam. I look forward to hearing about your adventures. And seeing your photos. 🙂

yb…after reading the “16 hours”, forget hyperventilating…I held my breath getting through the next 6 bullet tips…then had to roll back up to the very “cool cat” to focus on the next gulp of air…

God bless you, you Road Warrior …you are my new Hero girl.

I want so desperately to go to New Zealand to shoot yb. I’ll look into those “panic attack” pills…or maybe find a traveling boxer with a great left that leaves no marks and is willing to carry camera equipment.

ở đâu là nhà vệ sinh Ya might need this… (privy info)

Here’s to a Safe trip, Stellar photos and nothing of unusual appearance or lasting effects being consumed!

Wow, I wish I could be right there with you, ybonesy. I mean, it’s my family’s home country after all. I have to go there someday to visit!! I’m sure you’ll see lots of beautiful places over there. Take lots of photos!! And have a safe voyage. 🙂

YB, Do whatever suits your mood and by all means dress for comfort, telling yourself that none of these people will you ever see again. One thing I did learn, and that was to pay attention to the announcements being made. Once, engrossed in the book that I was reading, all settled in by my departure gate, I missed the announcement that the gate for my flight had been changed. When another flight, (not mne,) was announced as close to boarding time, I went up to the desk and inquired as to mine. I was then told that it had “already departed from another gate…didn’t I hear the announement?” I panicked, of course, but the very nice, patient agent worked some magic on her computer, and found a spot for me on a different flight, which got me home even sooner than I would have, with one less layover!
Love your “cool cat,” and am looking forward to your posts from the other side of the world.
Vaya con Dios!

ybonesy, I thought of you last night, way up there in the friendly skies. I was calculating the time you’d have in the air and figuring when you might get to Vietnam. I imagine you are safely there now thought it’s probably night time. Looking forward to hearing from you as you are able. So exciting!

Thanks to all our wonderful readers for the bon voyage for ybonesy.

BTW, heather, I have always wanted to go to New Zealand, too, for the culture and to take photographs of the amazing land and sea there. I’m not much of a world traveller. But there are a few places I hope to make it to in the next 10 years. We’ll see what happens. It’s hard to imagine that many hours on a plane. I’ll have to do some mental prep and maybe a grab a few thing from ybonesy’s list. 8)

beautiful drawing! i really liked your tips. i can’t even imagine being able to get through a flight that long. i have a major motion sickness problem. have lots of fun. can’t wait to hear all about your trip.

Hey all, just getting home after a day at the studio. It’s late but I wanted to say, I got an email from ybonesy and she made it safely to Vietnam (by way of a narrowly missed typhoon in Hong Kong!) They missed the typhoon but it caused a slight delay.

Now she’s arrived in Vietnam but having Internet connectivity problems because of the weather. So she’ll check in as soon as she can. Just wanted to let people know. I’ll comment more on other posts tomorrow. And thanks to everyone for stopping by today. 8)

Hi Ya’ll, had another note from ybonesy this morning. It’s about 4am in her neck of the woods. When we are sleeping, she’ll be in the middle of her day. She’s still having some Internet difficulties connecting to red Ravine. But hopefully, all will be resolved as we head into the new week. She says Hi to all!

diddy, sounds from ybonesy’s emails like it’s pretty darned hot in Vietnam this time of year. She says the locals are used to it and don’t sweat. But everyone else is just dripping. It reminds me of the heat in Georgia. But I imagine it’s much more tropical in Vietnam. Can’t wait until ybonesy can report in on her travels!

Yay, thanks to QM and her request to WordPress Support on how to get me access to WP from Vietnam, I have put some technical code into my Mozilla Foxfire browser that now allows me to get through the Vietnamese firewalls.

It’s slow, and I’m not sure how many posts I’ll be able to do given the challenges, but I’m going to try to do some starting with Freedom of Speech. Much more to come, but in the mean time, thanks for all the kind comments. It’s beautiful here!!

ybonesy! How great to hear from you. You made it work! That’s great. I don’t know how you figured that all out. Got your last few emails and it sounds like things are going well (with the exception of the firewalls there). We’ll work out the posting. Will look to hear from you as you are able. Hey, I miss you!

[…] I think the postcard is like a letter haiku. Think of everything you’ve learned in brief intervals of 17-syllable haiku from our regulars on haiku (one-a-day). The postcard from my uncle spoke to me; half a century later I gained a glimpse of who he was. I got a postcard from ybonesy that arrived right after I came home from Georgia. Maybe she’ll send me one from Vietnam (smile). […]

Well, I thought I’d take a return trip to Vietnam in November, but the visit was postponed until early December. Getting geared up for another long flight.

Here are a few more tips for the travel:

-Take the bigger carry-on, the one I actually prefer to check. Don’t pack to the brim; save room for a few t-shirts for Jim and the girls. Well-made and nicely priced.

-Not too much cash. Can withdraw what I need from the ATM machine in the hotel, as long as I can do the currency calculations. Involves four zeros, which means I can easily end up withdrawing nearly a million in local currency. That’s disconcerting.

-Swimsuit and goggles. Had I already added that one. Best exercise ever and takes very little room in the luggage.

Thanks, QM. I think I’m all set for blogability insofar as my computer is concerned; we’ll see how it goes timewise. Oh, I forgot my camera. Hmmm…well, maybe a few text posts, or I suppose I could borrow someone else’s. We’ll see.

Oh, good, I’m glad you’re set with the computer codes and stuff. Bummer about your camera! I bet you’ll miss having that. However, text posts would be great. Maybe you could do short journal-style postings that are check-in’s about whatever’s going on in the moment.

No worries. I’m holding down the fort! Looking forward to seeing what new adventures await you in Vietnam.

I survived the flight from hell. 14 hours from SFO to Hong Kong, non stop. Didn’t get an upgrade this time (ugh) and sat about six rows from the very back of the plane (double-ugh).

Oh, so one of my “tricks” is to specify in my travel profile that I prefer some food other than the norm. For a long time it was vegetarian, but that just ended up being mostly fruit and yogurt. Then I did kosher, just to see what I’d get, not because my religion required. Didn’t like that much. So, after this trip, I’m curious as to what my profile reads. For dinner I got some mushy kashi-style grain and some other flax seed with cooked mushrooms. It was all gross. Then for my snack I had what looked like a calazone but mushy. And for my breakfast, I had what looked like another bunch of kashi and then some very spicy Indian-looking triangle pockets. Those were the best, although not very good.

Also, truly was a horrible flight. At one point this one tall young woman, striking with a wild fro and her belly bared and a funky strappy tee and converse tennies, came running to the back bathroom vomiting along the way. She got the woman katty-korner to me, missed me, thank god, and essentially passed out back there. After about an hour and a doctor on the plane spending time with her, she got up and I guess was fine. But for a while we thought the plane was going to have to do a landing in Korea or Japan, given that she wasn’t getting up off the floor.

I was my most stealth, inward self. Music in my ears constantly, very little talking, very calm. Had to just remain incredibly cool-headed this flight. The plane was packed, not a single seat to spare. Mostly I slept, which surprised even me.

ybonesy, wow, that does sound like the plane ride from hell. Can’t believe the woman passed out on the floor. So was that from alcohol or motion sickness? And I hate to mention this but isn’t vomit one of your hot buttons of things you’d rather not experience? Seems like I remember that puke and the sight of blood really get to you. UGH.

So sorry about being at the back of the plane, too. Not pleasant being next to the bathrooms. I’ve only been on one long flight like that and it was to Hawaii from Montana. I made it there okay, no mishaps. But on the way back I got so motion sick and my face was completely green when I got off the plane. I never lost it, but sure thought I was going to!

Hope you continue to get a chance to continue to check in from Vietnam once in a while and let us know how you’re doing. Be safe, friend.

Yeah, definitely a hot button, QM, although it didn’t affect me this time. I think it was motion sickness. A pretty turbulent flight, plus she seemed young, not very used to something as overwhelming as a 14-hour flight. BTW, the flights does stop and deplane in HK, and then we all get back on it for the last two hours.

All is well here. I’m on my food orgy frenzy. God, I love the food here. Nothing like it. So fresh and simply yet exotic. And the visual sensation. I just really enjoy being in this city and this country.

Had a fun dinner tonight. Got home at a decent hour, decided to do a blog post since I’m not sure when I’ll get to do another, and now off to bed. Ciao.

[…] to the three plane rides it will take to get us to Ho Chi Minh City. One of the flights is 13 or 14 hours long. I try not to dwell on it but wonder if I’ll be able not to when I have an 11-year-old and a […]